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Saltwater Geopolitics in North America

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Widening the Scope of Environmental Policies in North America

Abstract

Ed Atkins explores, throughout a historical account, the location of the oceans within global security and geopolitics via the analysis of the oceans of North America. In doing so, he argues that contemporary geopolitics appears to be returning to the work of Mahan (1920) by focusing on a characterization of the maritime space as an arena of flows—of goods traded, of energy supplied, and of population movement. He recognizes the relative harmony of the oceans of North America in comparison with those of China and India, which are used as points of reference. Oceans of North America are explored through two selected historical case studies (USA–Canada and Mexico–USA), providing a means to understand how the territorialization of maritime spaces has occurred and becomes contested.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK

    Ed Atkins

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  1. Ed Atkins
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Mora, Mexico City, Mexico

    Gustavo Sosa-Nunez

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Atkins, E. (2018). Saltwater Geopolitics in North America. In: Sosa-Nunez, G. (eds) Widening the Scope of Environmental Policies in North America . Governance, Development, and Social Inclusion in Latin America. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56236-0_3

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